Energy storage is one of the bottlenecks of renewables. In technical jargon, sun and wind are intermittent sources: meaning, trivially, that there is no light at night and the wind does not always blow as we would like.
In order to think about an economy based on green sources, the issue of energy storage, to be released when possible, becomes, thus, central.
The methods devised by engineers are varied. There is, for example, the hydroelectric one: you pump water up with excess energy, then drop it back into penstocks and then turn the motion back into energy as needed. Counterintuitive, but effective. Where water and gradients are lacking, compressed air, stored in former gas fields, can be used: the controlled release goes to activate turbines, and that’s it.
What about “classic” batteries? Not so simple. Given the volumes involved, we are talking about gigantic installations, which must be capable of “supporting” the grid at times of peak consumption. From the costs of construction, maintenance and disposal through the difficulties of supplying rare metals, this is a difficult road. On which, not surprisingly, workers around the world are focusing their research.
For that matter, there is an important advantage: the response to needs, which in the case of hydropower or compressed air takes seconds or minutes, in this case, is almost immediate. In short, ready energy, just when you need it.
A Trentino battery startup
Among the most promising Italian companies is certainly GES (Green Energy Storage), an innovative SME from Trentino founded by Salvatore Pinto (a present in energy and a long past between Olivetti, Telecom and Pirelli) and led by Matteo Mazzotta. Founded in 2015, it has a fine history of research and development that has already put it on the European Union’s radar despite not yet having reached the market.
After exclusively licensing a patent from Harvard on a quinone-based storage technology, GES developed an initial industrial project from scratch, then abandoned due to commodity market rallies.
“But it was a fundamental experience,” Mazzotta, the CEO, explains to StartupItalia, “Today we are working on a similar technology: again, it is a flow battery, although the definition is a bit narrow for us because we managed to achieve a density up to three times higher than the best competitor, which is vanadium.
Today, Mazzotta continues, the storage market is flying: but the characteristics of demand are also changing, moving toward longer durations than those guaranteed by lithium, which is “inefficient beyond four hours.”
“The hydrogen platform enables different types of green chemistries to manage price volatility and avoid upstream geopolitical risks inherent in a postglobalization scenario.”
Hydrogen batteries: the scenario and competitors
Operation is reminiscent in every way of that of ordinary accumulators used in the home. It changes, of course, the scale.
“When you connect the batteries to the renewable source or to the electricity grid, the energy makes the electrolyte ‘transform’ into hydrogen, which then ‘transforms’ back into the initial electrolyte,” the Salento manager explains, “meaning that, compared to other flow batteries, we don’t have the cost of buying one of the two electrolytes, which is replaced by self-produced hydrogen.
Competitors? “There are some, of course. But this, in our interpretation means we are in the right direction.” Such as the Dutch Elestor, which makes hydrogen and bromine batteries, “the latter element that we have abandoned because of environmental costs and difficulties from a chemical standpoint”; or Enervenue, which focuses on hydrogen and nickel, is little more than a startup but just born and has already raised $100 million. “We have studied their technology, but we think we have something more in terms of density and lower environmental impact.”
A public company seeking investors
Meanwhile, GES has already obtained 53 million from a European tender, conveyed by MISE. State aid? “There is an exemption, because the EU considers the sector strategic,” says the CEO. Who explains how GES has a capital increase underway, already subscribed by many of the current shareholders , “but also open until July to third parties.”
“We are negotiating with several funds and private investors,” the manager resumes. It is not just a matter of liquidity. “The ideal for us would be to identify partners capable of supporting us not only financially, but also industrially and commercially.”
The company, in the past, has financed itself through two crowdfundings. “We can basically call ourselves a public company, with more than eight hundred investors. We are used to thinking as such, that is, in a structured way. In addition, recommendations, insights, and even a few suppliers always come from the member network.”
GES, Mazzotta points out, is not yet on the market: the first solution will be available, according to plan, within a couple of years.
